If You Just Leave the Window Open
by CharmSpirit
Summary: My name is Denise Woods. This is the story of my adventures with Peter Pan. Yeah, go ahead and look down at the next story. I'm not giving you much of a summary anyways, am I? I've always believed that stories shouldn't be summarized. That is why they're called stories, and not paragraphs. But what do I know? I'm just a girl who got to travel to Neverland.
1. Back Story

**A/N: Hello! Yes, I am starting a new story! Yes, I am writing two stories at once, but don't worry, I'm very experienced in this, so I'll keep up with them both. This story is a very different style from my other ones, so understand it will be far from perfect, but I'm just testing it out, so bare with me. Hopefully it'll turn out ok. One more thing: yes, I'm going to be one of those annoying people who will not update until I get a certain amount of reviews. I'm sorry, but like I said I'm just trying this out, so if no one is going to read it, then I will not continue to write it. So: I will update when I get 2 reviews. Just 2! So please review.**

**Disclaimer: Me: Hey Peter! Do I own you?**

**Peter: What? No! Nobody owns Peter Pan!**

**Me: Aww, that means I'll have to go through with kidnapping you...**

**Peter: Wait...what?!**

**Me: Roll the story!**

Hello! Wow, good way to start a book, isn't it? My name is Denise Woods, and I'm telling you this story purely for entertainment. Don't expect any of those lovely 'theme's' and 'deep concepts' that you get in any normal book. Nope. This is for entertainment only. Does this make you want to put down the book? Good. Because I wouldn't have wanted you reading it anyways if you thought like that. Ever heard of foreshadowing?

Ok, let's get right to it. I was a relatively normal thirteen year old girl, or at least what would be considered normal in the twenty first century. I loved the internet. I hated school. I had a lot of products from huge book and movie franchises that I was obsessed with. I was very connected on the internet. Oh, and of course I knew who Peter Pan was.

Peter Pan! You know, the one from the old Disney movies I used to watch (ok, I still watch)? The one that they cast the _gorgeous _Jeremy Sumpter to play in the 2003 live action movie? The one that everyone thought acted adorable at the Disney parks, even if it wasn't the real Peter Pan? Yeah, I knew who Peter Pan was. I loved Peter Pan. But that didn't mean I actually expected him to show up at my window!

Ok, let's go back a little. Let's go back to about… two years ago, when my best friend showed me the 2003 movie. I absolutely loved it. You could say this was the start to my crazy infatuation with Peter Pan, so if there's anybody to blame for it, it would be my best friend.

How amazing had Jeremy Sumpter looked in that movie? Wow! I was delightfully surprised at how good-looking he was. I had come into it expecting a redheaded boy who wore green tights and a little hat, but instead I got this gorgeous blond wearing leaves that barely covered his chest. Ooh-la-la! Let's face it: it would have looked pretty stupid if they had made a human version of the Disney Peter Pan. So I'm glad they chose that way to go.

That was indeed the beginning. Fifth grade, that's the grade I was in when I saw that movie. I loved it so much that when my exam tests came up I literally brought the movie with me to school and hid it in my desk just so I could see the characters and cheer up as I was taking the test. Can you say pathetic? But if any of you have ever been part of a _fandom (_the community of fans surrounding a TV show/movie/book/etc…) then you would understand where I was coming from.

Then there were the two years that I was obsessed with a little thing called Harry Potter, but you're here for Peter Pan, so we don't want to talk about that (mostly just me crying over the series ending, so it wasn't interesting anyways). But then, in the seventh grade, something happened.

I realized I was growing up. No, not physically, but mentally. I was more conscious of my actions and thoughts. I was wiser to choices and less scared of the horrid things adults did. My childhood was slowly slipping away from me. And that had begun to be painfully obvious.

So what should I do, seventh-grade me thought. How can I preserve my childhood? Well the answer to that was obvious: Disney. A trip to Disney World! That's perfect! So little me went on the internet and began to plan for Disney World for this summer, planning so I could convince my parents to take me (it worked, I might add). That was how I stumbled, once again, upon Peter Pan.

What was the video called? "Huggy Pan?" Was that it? Well, whatever the video was called, I clicked on it, because I was curious. Huggy Pan? What the heck is a huggy pan? And that was when I was introduced to the Disney Peter Pan actors.

That's what got me rolling again, my friends. That's what fueled my fire and longing to be at Disney World. But, once again, I became preoccupied by my overall Disney World planning and forgot about Peter Pan.

Then, a few months later, came Tumblr.

Tumblr was in love with Peter Pan for a good while. They absolutely adored the Disney actors, and many gifs (moving pictures) and videos were posted about him. How could I get away from this? With many new people moving into the Peter Pan fandom, how was I, already previous member, supposed to resist it's many charms?

And so that started me again. Disney World came and went, I met "Peter Pan" for a few precious moments, and went back home. Boring home. Home where there was absolutely nothing to do but go on the internet (which does get tiring after a while). So that's what I did. I read about Peter Pan, I wrote about Peter Pan (much like I am now), I watched Peter Pan, I bought every possible thing I could relating to Peter Pan! I was completely obsessed with Peter Pan!

Now, I may have told you that I wholeheartedly believed in Peter Pan. What else could I say, someone who loved him so much? I know that I am not the only Peter Pan fan out there so, you guys, did you ever _truly _believe in Peter Pan? Or did you just believe that if you believed, he may come for you?

Hah! There's your psychological question of the day! But, going back to the story, that was probably why he never really came for me. I may have loved him and wanted him to come for me, but in the back of my mind I always thought of him as a character created by an author. Nothing more. That's why he never came.

That is, before that one night.

I'll end this chapter there, so I can have at least one chapter ending that is a slight cliffhanger. Turn the page for the happenings of 'that one night.'

**A/N: Alright, there it is! Obviously, Denise is writing this as if she's going to publish it in a real book; maybe she wrote this in a journal before she was going to publish it...? ;) Very new style for me, isn't it? Ah, well. Remember: 2 reviews and I update! Thanks for reading! I promise my A/N's won't be this long again! (Hopefully!) **


	2. Peter Pays a Visit

**A/N: Well, I got MORE than 2 reviews! Hah! Thanks to all of you that reviewed (no, seriously, you have no idea how incredibly happy I was when I got the emails); because of you, this Chapter exists. So you can take credit for it! :D However, for some reason, the reviews aren't showing up on the 'official story' for me at the present; however, if you're having the same problem, they do exist, I have the emails to prove it. So that's weird, but I did indeed get more than 2. Promise. :D And now I present: Chapter 2: Peter Pays a Visit!**

**Disclaimer: Me: -stealthily sneaks behind Peter-**

**Peter: -has no idea I'm there-**

**Me: -suddenly tackles Peter with awesome ninja skills!-**

**Peter: -throws me off with his even better ninja skills...-**

**Me: Dang it! Still don't own Peter Pan.**

So, you decided to turn the page. Good for you. Better to do it now then spend your whole life wondering if you had just turned that page, your life might have been different…

I'm just joking. No life-changing revelations are going to happen here. But, the story does begin here, so let's just launch right in…

It was your average night. I had already departed into my room, and presently I was thinking about going to bed. It was only eleven-thirty, but I'm an early sleeper like that. So I turned off my computer, where I had been ogling at some sort of Peter Pan-related thing, I'm sure. I plugged it in for the night and, yawning, trudged over to my bed. Usually I would get myself a glass of water before going to bed, but these pajamas I was wearing always made me so sleepy! But they were so soft and comfortable! Sure, the shorts were really short, and the shirt looked like a mini dress, but I was just going to bed. It wasn't like I would be going anywhere.

Or so I thought.

I climbed into my bed and turned off the TV (yes, I had a TV in my room), and faced the skylight right above my bed.

I absolutely loved that skylight. It was the sole reason that, when we moved here two years ago, I had asked for this room. Two years ago, remember? In fifth grade, when I was beginning my obsession with Peter Pan? Well, he definitely influenced my choice. The skylight provided an absolutely perfect view of the Second Star to the Right.

Do you remember how, in every other Peter Pan story, the Second Star to the Right shines brighter than all the rest? Well, in real life, that isn't the case. The Second Star is just like any normal star: brighter than some, but dimmer than some too. I should know; I stared at it every night before I went to sleep. That might have been one of the reasons that Peter Pan was just a character in my mind: not everything in the story worked in reality.

Why else would it be called a story though?

Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. I need to tell you some of the events leading up to my bedtime, don't I? Otherwise you wouldn't understand why Peter chose this night to show up. Bear with me here; this is hard to explain.

It started at dinner. I had that familiar feeling of despair for humanity (you know the feeling, the one you always get after watching the news), the feeling that always makes me want to go into my room and question my entire life. So I left dinner (I was home alone anyways) and retreated to my lovely bedroom.

"I hate this world!" I moaned, collapsing on the floor in misery. One thing you should know about me: I'm a little overdramatic. I like to think that I have a very cinematic eye, so, given the chance, I will always react to something in a way I think would look good if put in a movie. Singing to myself when I'm sad? Done it. Curled up into a ball to cry? Done it. And now, collapsing on the floor in despair? Done it.

The thoughts running through my head were…not happy thoughts. Hate would be the word to describe it all. I was just not happy with the world. Why was everyone so mean? Why couldn't we just get along? Were we so close-minded that we couldn't see we were wasting our existence?

Thought after terrible thought went through my head, drowning me in a sea of hopelessness, so that my being on the floor and clutching my head wasn't for my cinematic eye.

"STOP!" I shouted to my head, and immediately the thoughts ceased. I sat there, breathing hard, still clutching my head, trying to get my emotions and thoughts under control. But tonight was a hard night for me. But I find that when I am vulnerable, like I was then, then I tend to _believe _more than I usually would.

And that's when something weird happened. A thought came into my head, a thought that I wasn't even close to thinking in my current frame of mind, but there it was, clear as day: _Don't worry, Denise. Peter Pan will come for you. _

I blinked. I shook my head. What? Peter Pan? Why was I thinking about him right now? Slightly disoriented for a moment, I had quit thinking about the terrible world. And after that thought, I didn't think about it again for the entire night.

I think that was the one moment, the one moment throughout my entire life leading up to this point, that I truly believed in Peter Pan. Right when that thought crossed my mind. That was the only time in my life I had seen him as a real person, instead of just a character. But of course I didn't know that, at the time. I eventually figured it out; if I hadn't, I wouldn't be writing this now.

But we have arrived back to my bedtime! Hurray! Remember, I was looking up at the skylight. I never looked up at the stars at night before this time, because I wanted the first star I saw to always be the Second Star to the Right. So that should explain what I then whispered…

"Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight…" Remember, this is a thirteen year old girl saying this, "I wish… I wish Neverland was real. I wish Peter Pan was real. I wish I could leave here and never come back till forever ends. _Please." _

And then I simply rolled over, and drifted off to sleep.

Now begins one of the reasons why my story is unique to others: Peter did not come in through a window. He came in through—you guessed it!—a skylight. I suppose he had never seen one before and was curious as to how it worked. He was probably quite disappointed that it was just a window on the roof.

But who cares what he thought! The fact was that he was breaking into my room while I was asleep! I'm not sure how long he lingered in my room before I woke up, but I did indeed wake up. I think I heard him shift something aside on my desk, and the sound caused my eyes to flutter open.

"Hunngh?" Was probably the sound I made as I sat up, my eyes finally opening all the way. And that's when I saw him.

I might be the first girl since Wendy not to scream, but it was a close thing. My eyes stretched wide and my mouth certainly gaped open, but no sound came out, and I began hyperventilating and shaking…you know, the average thing someone does when there's a boy in her room. The boy—oh, forget the suspense you already know who it is anyways—_Peter _didn't seem to notice I was awake yet; on the contrary, he just resumed picking up my stuff. But that was totally fine by me, the only thought running through my head was: _Peter Pan is touching my stuff, PETER PAN IS TOUCHING MY STUFF! _

After sitting on my bed and just staring at him for a whole two minutes, I finally plucked up the courage to try to get him to notice me. My plan was to just say quietly, "Peter Pan?" and have him turn around and see this beautiful version of me, sitting on my bed lightly, a curious look on my face. That was my plan, anyways.

But since when do plans follow through?!This was the first time Peter met a true fangirl.

"_PETER PAN!" _I screamed at the top of my lungs, launching off my bed and tackling him down. Oh yes, beautiful version of me.

Peter let out a shout of surprise and grappled with me, trying to push me off. I consented and jumped off him, but the moment I was upright I was hopping up and down, barely…ok, not even containing my excitement.

Peter stood up and brushed himself off, turning to me with a slightly strange look. But that was gone in an instant, and then he was smiling at me. "Yeah, that's me! And you are?" He asked, bowing slightly. An act that only exhilarated me more.

"Denise!" I gasped quickly, still bouncing up and down. "Denise Woods!"

"Well, Denise Woods, I take it you know who I am?" He inquired, his eyes twinkling, smirking that cute boyish smirk. I swear by this point I was probably going to faint. Don't worry, I get better.

"Of course I know who you are! You're Peter Pan, you're the Boy Who Never Grow Up, you're Chief Flying Eagle, you're the Lost Boys Leader, you live in Neverland, you're Peter Pan! Peter Pan is in my room!" I finished with a squeal, doing a little jump in the air. Come on, I bet any of you reading this would have acted the same way. Don't deny it! This is a judgment free zone, right?

Though a bit surprised that I knew so much, Peter grinned and nodded proudly. "Uh-huh! You know a lot about me!"

"I know _everything _about you." I breathed, probably sounding a bit creepy, because Peter's smile slipped from his face slightly, but it was back instantly. "Oh yeah?" He said, challenging me. I nodded eagerly.

"How old am I?"

"Quite young."

"Who's Tinkerbell?"

"Your fairy."

"How did I meet her?"

"You fell out of your pram and Tink helped you out."

"Why am I still in Neverland?"

"You never want to grow up and the window was closed." I said promptly. A flash of sadness crossed Peter's face at the last part, which I didn't understand, but I maybe I hadn't even seen it, because it was gone so quickly. Now he just looked mildly impressed.

"You know your stuff." He said. I nodded happily again. And then the moment I had been waiting for since fifth grade happened: Peter stretched out his hand towards mine. "Does that mean you want to go to Neverland?"

I didn't even give it a second thought. "Yes…yes, yes, YES!" I squealed, taking his hand eagerly. Right now I wasn't in the frame of mind to ask why he just suddenly wanted me to come with him now, I just wanted to GO. So that's what I did.

"Great! But you're gonna have to let me carry you, because Tinkerbell was too tired to come here with me. Plus she doesn't like you." Peter said carelessly, pulling me closer. I rolled my eyes. "Good. I don't like her either."

Peter thought absolutely nothing of this, only flipping me up onto his back and readying himself to fly. "Ready?" He asked.

"YES! I am SO ready!" I shouted, wrapping my arms around his neck, positively quivering with excitement.

And so Peter shot off into the open skylight.

And this is where the Chapter ends, my friends. Yes, he really did ask me, just like that, and I really did accept, just like that. My thoughts were: I'll ask him questions in Neverland; then he won't be able to leave! Yes. I am crazy. And don't worry; I eventually did master my fangirl attitude. Really, Peter is no one you need to fangirl over. That just makes him even cockier, and we don't want _that _do we?

So, turn the page to see my exhilarating flying experience, plus the _real _Neverland. Oh yes. The stories definitely got Neverland wrong.

**A/N: 2 more reviews please! :) Thanks again to those who reviewed last time! Thankyouthankyouthankyou! **


	3. Flying

**A/N: Thanks for letting me complete my story! I love it when I get the two reviews I want, because I really like this story! But I still require them to update: 2 more reviews please! Alright, I present to you Chapter 3: Flying!**

**Disclaimer: Me: -hides behind tree, waiting for Peter to fall into trap-**

**Peter: -walks in, looking around warily. Steps into trap and gets trapped-**

**Me: YES! I OWN Y-**

**Peter: -slashes trap and frees himself-**

**Me: ugggggggggh. Fine. I don't own Peter Pan.**

**Peter: -smirks and rolls eyes-**

Oh, isn't turning a page such a lovely thing? It just brings whole new adventures to you, doesn't it? The adventure you are about to go on with me is flying.

I will give you four words: Flying. Is. Not. Enjoyable. _At all! _I was completely unprepared for the reality of flying; I had completely expected to feel wonderful as I soared in the sky with Peter, the wind whipping my hair back, arms stretched out, just loving life.

That is the farthest thing from the truth.

As it was, I was clutching onto Peter's neck in absolute _terror _as he zipped through the sky. My hair was indeed whipping back, but my eyes were also watering, my legs were dangling up and down, and I was afraid that any minute now I would lose my grip on Peter and plummet to my death. Flying. Fun.

"SLOW _DOWN!" _I finally screamed, after Peter had swerved to the left right before we were going to crash into a tree. At my words, Peter skidded to a halt and turned around to me. He looked very annoyed.

"What?" He asked, obviously nettled. Meanwhile, I was trying to wipe the tears from my eyes and control my breathing, which was more a heaving mess of hyperventilation than real breathing. I hated rollercoasters, so I suppose I should have expected the reaction was going through.

Peter saw what a mess I was though and, thankfully, turned around and started floated towards the ground. He landed on it softly and let me down, where I crumpled to the ground, putting my face in my hands and trembling violently. I didn't care who saw me at the moment, so long as they didn't bother me. I wanted to have my breakdown in peace.

Luckily, Peter didn't bother me. Poor boy, he probably didn't have a clue how to handle me! I bet he had just stood over me, at a complete loss, trying to figure out what to do. But the best thing he could have done was nothing, really, so he did actually handle it ok.

After maybe about five minutes, I pulled myself together enough to raise my head and look at Peter. I must've looked like a wreck. Red, splotchy face, hair plastered to my cheeks, hands clammy from fear. It's a wonder Peter didn't ditch me right there.

"Are…are you ok?" Peter asked, in a surprisingly gentle voice I hadn't expected. Gulping and moving my hair off of my wet cheeks, I slowly nodded. I still hadn't found the energy to speak yet.

Peter knelt down to my level and gave me such a look of genuine concern that I momentarily forgot about my situation and thought in surprise, _Wow. So he really isn't all about himself. _

Now would be the moment when he timidly lifted my chin, put his thumb on my cheek and brushed away one of my tears, murmuring quietly, "It'll be ok. Just look at me, nothing else." And then we became lost in each other's eyes, leaning in quietly until…

Hah! No way! This is Peter Pan we're talking about. What he did in fact do was continue to stare at me and say, "Um…so…so are you ready to go now?"

Oh gosh Peter. I chose not to reply, only to lower my head again and wipe my face off. Once it was dry enough for me, I raised it again and sighed, standing up. Peter, who had been awkwardly studying the ground, looked up as I rose. He stood too and smiled it me in a slightly relieved and slightly encouraging way. As cheesy as it sounds, that made me feel better.

"Ok," I said, exhaling again. "I'm ready."

Peter's face brightened and he eagerly bent down, inviting me to climb onto his back again. _H_eck no!

"Um, can you carry me…some other way? Maybe bridal-style, like you did Wendy when you rescued her from Hook?" I said, unintentionally showing of my knowledge of one of Peter's adventures. He straightened up and gave me a suspicious look.

"How do you know how I carried Wendy?" He asked, one eye brow arched. I quickly tried to think of some excuse; I wasn't really in the mood to explain to him that one of his adventures was made into books, movies, and plays in the real world at the moment…

"Um…intuition?" I said, shrugging slightly. Peter continued to study me skeptically, but disregarded it and walked over to me. In one, fluid motion, he picked me up and secured his arms around my legs and back. I felt butterflies erupt in my stomach. Oh, don't you just love hormones?

Peter checked around him, to make sure nobody was looking then, with me in his arms, he shot upwards into the sky. I let out a scream of surprise and quickly wrapped my arms around his neck, ducking into his shoulder, repeatedly telling myself; _Don't look down, don't look down, don't even look up or around… _Hey, that rhymes!

After a while, I gathered up enough courage to timidly raise my head. The moment I caught sight of the scene around us, I raised it fully and my eyes widened.

We were in bloody _space. _No helmets, no special outfits, no _anything, _just me and Peter flying through brilliant stars and planets that were so bright I couldn't look at them directly if I tried.

"Whoa…" I breathed, leaning forward to get a better look. But I had the best view of anyone. Twinkles and spots of light surrounded me on all sides, and I could see the sun in the distance, radiating light and fire and heat. I think we passed Uranus at some point; I swiveled around to look and it was too late.

"This is _amazing." _I whispered, gazing around me. Peter laughed slightly.

"Yeah, it is. You've never seen it before?" He asked, as if flying out to space was just something people did every day. I turned to him and shook my head, still in awe.

"Of course not. People don't just fly out to space; that's just…"

"Magic?" Peter supplied quietly, his eyes sparkling, wearing a little smirk on his face. I just stared at him, like an idiot, and nodded slowly. I really needed to snap out of this fangirl phase.

So the journey wore on. On and on and on it wore. It was, in all honesty, quite boring. Peter thought so too. He even told me, "Sorry. This part of the adventure is the worst part. It's really boring." So we just flew. That's literally all we did. So there isn't any worth describing it to you; you know what it is, right? So let's just move right to the part where we entered Neverland.

The light was bright. I thought for I moment I had died, it was so bright. But Peter's sudden burst of speed told me otherwise.

"Hold on," He told me, and I made sure my arms were securely locked around his neck. He leaned forward, and zoomed into the light.

I shut my eyes as we entered the light, but once the light died down I blinked them open. As with space, the stretched wide as I caught the scenery around me.

Neverland was beautiful…on the right. But on the left…it was destroyed. It looked like the island had been split in half: one was the bright and cheery and happy side, and another was the dark and sad and destructive side. The right side looked just like it had in the movies: Leafy, with clear magical water, and a clean coast with clean ocean water washing onto it. But the left side looked nothing like it had in the movies: it was filled with dead trees and graying soil, the coast was bland and the water was foggy as it washed onto the rocky sand. A mountain was on the left side and it, like the rest of that side, was gray and dangerous looking.

"What _happened?" _I gasped as Peter settled on to a cloud and let me off. I was to preoccupied to really comprehend that I was standing on a cloud.

"You mean the Dark Side?" Peter asked, following my gaze to the left side of the island. "That's been like that for as long as I can remember."

"Since when can you remember a lot?" I said before I could stop myself. But, come on, everyone knew that Peter Pan had terrible memory.

Luckily Peter didn't take it to heart; on the contrary, he smiled slightly and shot a sideways glance at me. "That's true. Well, maybe it started when Valda came here, whenever she came here."

"Who's Valda?" I asked quickly, my brain whirring through all my Peter Pan knowledge, trying to find a Valda. Nothing came to me.

A shadow had crossed over Peter's face, and he said, in an unusually grim tone, "Valda's like the me of the Dark Side."

**A/N: Alright! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this story, then bless you. (Gah. Too much Tobuscus!) Remember to review! It's a magical thing! **


	4. Splinters

**A/N: Whew! I'm back! I'm so sorry this is so late you guys, I really am, but I had the worst case of writers block that you could ever imagine. But yesterday I went to this AMAZING, SPECTACULAR, AWE-INSPIRING, AWESOME Peter Pan musical that really got me rolling again. Oh my gosh it was fantastic... Well, here is, finally, Chapter 4: Splinters!**

**Disclaimer: Me: Peter will you please just let me own you? I'll make you awesome, I promise.**

**Peter: I'm already awesome, I don't need you to make me even more awesome.**

**Me: Grrr...I'll own you someday Peter Pan!**

"What?" I said, surprised. "The you of the Dark Side? Wait…_Dark _Side?! There's a Dark Side of Neverland?!"

Peter nodded grimly. "Uh-huh. It began a while ago, right after Wendy left. I don't know why it happened, but it did, and I haven't been able to stop it. Besides, it doesn't bother me, so I don't have a reason to stop it."

"You need a reason to save Neverland?" I said, probably a bit more harshly then I intended, because Peter winced slightly at my words.

"It hasn't ruined anything. There's no point. Valda keeps to her side, and I keep to mine. End of story." Peter said, and there was such finality in his tone that I honestly didn't have the courage to keep the conversation going. I had just met him after all.

And so Peter took my hand and launched off of the cloud, dragging my along with him.

"Don't you have any pixie dust you can put on me, so I can fly?" I said, desperately flapping my arms to keep the left side of my body aloft. It didn't work.

Peter shot a look at me, probably noting that I also knew about the pixie dust, but didn't answer and just continued to lead me through the sky. Even then, I pretty much knew where we were going: The Lost Boy's Hideout. The house down underground.

Sure enough, Peter and I began drifting downwards into a leafy green forest, cluttered with trees and leaves and bushes. Peter touched down on the ground and caught my other hand in his, to ensure I didn't fall too hard onto the ground.

"We can't fly anymore from here; Hook might be watching and see where we land." Peter said, and, weirdly, I felt a feeling of relief spread through me. Good. At least Hook was still here.

"Just follow me, and try not to hit the trees too much. If you make too much noise, you might wake something up."

"'Wake something up?'" I repeated to myself, already nervous. What was there here to wake up?

But I disregarded this question and stayed close to Peter as he slashed through the trees with his dagger, cutting the way to the hideout.

"Why don't we just walk around them?" I asked Peter, eyeing some of the vines he had just pierced with his knife. I had a very strange sympathy for inanimate objects, and it did, believe it or not, make me sad to see him cutting down so many plants without a second glance.

"Because this is fun." Peter said, glancing behind him at me, all while slashing another plant. Hmm. This was going to cause trouble between us.

Eventually, we made it to the hideout. I recognized it immediately, because the trunks were slightly different than the rest. There were seven trunks, each individually shaped, each sitting in close proximity to the other. It was just like from the book: each person got their own uniquely fashioned trunk. It was, in my opinion, fascinating.

"So I suppose you have to measure me now, right?" I said automatically, once again displaying my awesome knowledge of Peter Pan. He nodded, now looking more amused at my knowledge than suspicious.

"Yep. So stay here for a minute, I'll be right back." Peter said, and with that he flew into his own trunk and down to the underground house.

Now gave me time to reflect on my current situation.

I was in _Neverland. _Neverland! I'd dreamed of this my whole life, and now I was here, and…I had no idea what to do. I had thought that upon entering Neverland, all of my anxiety and worries would just fade away, but they didn't. I was still overly worried that I was a boring person to bring here, and that I was just disappointing Peter and that he would grow bored with me within the hour and bring me back home. I couldn't go back home. I hated home. I hated reality. I hated the world. And who had made the world this way? Adults. So I automatically hated adults too. I belonged here, right? I thought I did… But that wouldn't matter anyways if Peter got bored of me and took me home anyways. And I knew he would; Peter barely had a conscience, so he wouldn't care what it did to me. Ugh. I bet all of these problems, this whole paragraph of problems I've written, would've just gone away if I stopped caring what he thought. But I was Denise Woods. And Denise Woods…relied too much on others to tell her how she acted. I hope I can change that.

Peter had returned. In his hand he carried some sort of measuring tape made out of a substance I didn't even know about. He held it up and smiled at me.

"Ok, I have to measure your height, your head, and your waist. So stand still." He explained, and then he set to work.

I tried to stand completely still as Peter stretched the measuring tape thing high to get my height, which is apparently five feet exactly. I had to laugh when Peter measured my head, because, come on, I must have looked really stupid then. Peter didn't seem to mind thought; I think I even saw him smile out of my peripheral vision. But measuring my waist…well, that was probably the most awkward thing that had happened to me in Neverland thus far. Peter chose to stand behind me and slip his arms under mine, wrapping the measuring tape around my waist as he went. He was doing this _on purpose, _I knew it. He expected me to swoon for him, as everyone else did. But was I going to?! ….Yes, yes I probably was, there's no sense in lying to you. But still! He expected me to! How arrogant.

"I think I'm finished." Peter said, releasing the measuring tape from behind my waist. I let out a breath I didn't even know I had been holding as his arms slipped away from mine, feeling almost dizzy with feelings. Guys, come on. Don't act like you wouldn't do the same thing if the crush of your life wrapped his arms around you, even if he was just measuring your waist. You would. Don't deny it.

"Hey, come over here." Peter called from about five foot to the right. I nodded and walked over to him, trying to dodge the fallen twigs and logs that littered the ground. "What?" I asked.

"Can you stand in this trunk?" Peter asked, skeptically studying the trunk. I was slightly taken aback by this, but obeyed and climbed into the trunk. And then Peter got to work.

If you asked me, even back then, what he was doing, I wouldn't be able to tell you. I didn't know. All I knew is what he asked me to do, which was sometimes to change positions, sometimes to get out of the log, and sometimes to try and slide down it. It took about an hour before Peter had fashioned the perfect log for me, and by then I probably had about fifty splinters just in my arms. It wasn't my best experience.

"Are we _done yet?" _I moaned, my head just barely poking out of the log. Peter glanced up at me, walked in a circle around the log, climbed onto a branch sticking out on the log, placed both hands on my shoulders, looked down at the log, and stayed in the position for a whole sixty seconds. I awkwardly stood there, looking everywhere but at Peter, until he finally jumped down and held out his hand.

"Yes, we're done." He said, and I gladly took his hand and jumped out of the tree trunk.

"Finally! It's going to be hours until I get all these splinters out." I said, brushing myself off and examining my arms.

"Want me to help you?" Peter asked innocently, taking a step forward. I automatically took a step back. Help me pick splinters out of my skin? Really? What's your real motive?

But…I knew he didn't have one. This was Peter Pan after all; he wouldn't do anything like that to me. He was so innocent… which was one of the things I really loved about him.

"You want to help me get splinters out of my skin?" I asked cautiously. That was still a strange thing to offer help on. Peter nodded though, smiling slightly. "Yeah. If it'll help."

I stared at him for a moment, just adoring how blatantly innocent he was, and shook my head. "Alright. Let's get on with it, then."

And so we both sat down and picked splinters out of our skin.

Yep, this was my life in Neverland. And, strangely, I was enjoying every second of it.

**A/N: Alright, you know the drill: 2 reviews and I update! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Down Underground

**A/N: Wow! You guys review fast. I barely had time to right this Chapter before the 2+ reviews I wanted were there. Thank you though! I'm really glad people like this story, because I really like writing it. But I don't really have a full idea formed in my head for the plot, so any ideas are welcome. Ok! Now I present to you Chapter 5: Down Underground!**

**Disclaimer: Me: I'm too tired to try and capture Peter today. So I'll just say it: I don't own Peter Pan.**

**Peter: Great! Now I don't have to worry about you slowing me down!**

**Me: Hey! -tackles Peter- Oh, right. Roll the story! -continues tackling-**

You know how, sometimes, when you're caught up in excitement, you forget to really study your surroundings? Well, that is my excuse for not telling you what exactly Peter Pan looked like in the real world. I completely missed it when we first met, and completely forgot about his looks at all the other times. But now, as I sat next to him trying to get a clingy splinter out of my thumb, I had a full view of the Boy Who Won't Grow Up. Yes, he is as handsome as people say.

Now I hope you will not stop reading once you realize that he looked very different from the Disney movie and the 2003 movie. He still acts the same, so I do hope you aren't so shallow as to judge him by looks. Ok. Here's my lovely description of Peter Pan:

First off, his hair is brown (just like mine). Not red, not blonde, brown. Short brown hair, closer to the Disney version of Peter than the 2003 version. And his skin is lightly tanned, but it is still more paled than brown. And his clothes are almost a mimicry of the 2003 version, except they show a little less chest and his pants are longer. His eyes are blue (just like mine), his face is free of any imperfections (because _he _hasn't gone through puberty), and he's just overall as handsome and cute as everyone has pictured him. Just with different…hair. Yeah.

So there is my view of Peter Pan. He's just so adorable, really, which didn't help my attitude towards him. But I was getting better.

"Ugh, ok, I think I've finally got them all." I said, after successfully pulling out the one in my thumb. Peter, who was currently trying to get one out of his palm, looked up with a panicked look. Was he so scared of being left behind?

"Um…here, I'll help you. I've got a lot of experience by now." I said, smiling slightly. Peter gladly held out his hand, and I tried to douse the overwhelming excitement that I was touching Peter Pan.

I carefully put my thumb and pointer-finger together and lowered them onto his hand. "This may hurt a little." I said, reminding myself of Wendy. Huh. Very similar situation.

I closed my nails onto the splinter, and slowly started to revolve it, trying for the gentler way. I heard Peter's sharp intake of breath as I accidentally yanked on it, and shot him an apologetic look. But it had to be done.

"I'm gonna have to pull it." I said, examining his palm. I looked up at him. He nodded, his face set and hardened in a look of bravery. "On three?" He nodded. I nodded too, and looked back down at his hand. "One—" And I yanked it out at one.

Peter let out a howl of pain and snatched his hand away, rubbing it fiercely. "Ouch!"

"Sorry!" I said apologetically. "But we got it out!" I added, holding up the thin wooden line. Peter looked up at it and a smile broke into his features.

"Great! Now we can go inside!" He said, shooting upwards into the trunk. So much for 'thank you.'

"Ladies first," Peter said, smirking, hovering on the edge of his own trunk. I rolled my eyes and climbed into mine, earning myself a fresh new batch of splinters. Oh joy.

I closed my eyes and let go of the sides, and instantly I was shooting down a smooth wooden slide with so much twists and turns that I was dizzy before I even got off the slide.

Oddly, the sound of drums was growing louder as I slid down, and eventually I began hearing the sound of kid's voices too…

"-here we come, here we come, come! Bang a drum, bang a drum, bang a drum, drum! Ba da bum, ba da bum, ba da bum, bum! We are Lost Boys hear us ROAR!" This was followed by a series of roars and whoops.

I finally slid down into the underground house, and the scene that greeted me was completely unexpected, even if I had heard the signs while travelling down.

Six boys were banging on drums (expertly, I might add) and singing the same chant I had heard above, only growing faster and faster each time. I watched in awe at their skills on the drums and the recurring chants; it was quite amazing that they could do that without any real training.

"—We are Lost Boys hear us—"

"ROAR!" Someone interrupted, and I swiveled sideways just in time to see Peter shooting into the house, roaring along with all the other Lost Boys. So he knew this chant too?

"Peter!" The Lost Boy's shouted, crowding around Peter as he floated downwards in the middle of the room. I was faintly annoyed that they didn't even notice me.

"Hello boys! I've got someone I'd like you to meet!" Peter said, pointing at me, and finally the boys turned around to look at me curiously. "Her name is Denise, and she's here to be our new moth—"

"WAIT." I said, holding up a hand to stop Peter. "Wait, wait, wait. I will not be a full-time mother."

This pronunciation was met by confused looks of the Lost Boys. Come to think of it, they probably hadn't had a girl come who didn't want to be a mother, or at least…not one that they would remember. Poor Jane.

"Um…well, then what would you be?" Peter asked, flying over to me. I was _very _insulted that he thought the only thing girls had the capacity to be was a mother. Idiot boy.

"I don't have to be anything! Can't I just hang out here with you guys?" I retorted, folding my arms firmly. I simply refused to be a mother to these little boys; within a day I would be kicked out for excessive yelling and violence. But maybe they liked that.

Peter was contemplating my question, and the boys were all looking up at him curiously. I was even more annoyed that he had to contemplate this question: Just say yes and get on with it Peter!

"Well….I guess." Peter finally said, looking at me. "But I don't know what you'd do. We fight, and play, and be loud…but you're a girl. You can't do any of that."

"_Excuse _me?" I said, narrowing my eyes the way I knew boys hated. But Peter held his ground, meeting my gaze defiantly and folding his arms. "Hmph. We'll just see about that. Just let me join in your games, and I'll show you girls can do just as much as boys." I challenged, raising an eyebrow. I couldn't believe I was going through this right now. It was the twenty-first century back home; most girls didn't have to deal with this sort of prejudice. But here I was, so I might as well go with it.

"Fine." Peter said, the ghost of a smirk on his mouth. "Just let me know when you've had enough."

"Fine." I replied, and the conversation ended there. Barely even an hour here and I already had a challenge going, with Peter Pan of all people.

"Now you can meet the boys!" Peter said brightly, his game-face gone. He turned towards the boys. "Boys!"

They all lined up in a straight line, and the first boy, one with messy black hair and a small and cute face who looked about ten, stepped forward. "I'm—"

"I know who you are!" I interrupted suddenly, smiling. "You're Slightly, aren't you?"

The boy stared at me for a moment, and then nodded slowly.

"And you—" I continued, pointing at the next boy, one who was relatively tall with reddish-brown hair, "You're Nibs, right?" Nibs nodded, looking at me strangely.

"And you're Curly," I said, pointing at the next boy, who had curly brown hair (hence his name) and was a bit thicker than the rest, but mostly from muscle than from fatness. He looked about eleven.

"You're Tootles," I went on, pointing at the smallest boy, who was pretty thin with a thin face and thin arms and legs, with thin blonde hair. He was just overall very thin, and immediately I wanted to give him more food to eat.

"And you two are the Twins, but I don't know your real names because apparently Peter won't allow you to be individuals." I finished, glaring at Peter for a moment before turning fondly back to the twins, who did indeed look exactly the same. Same dark hair, same small frame, and same little face with dots of freckles clouded on it. Each boy wore leaves and leather, which was probably all they could wear here.

"Well I don't get them." Peter cut in, probably trying to defend himself. "How are twins even made anyways? What are they?"

"That's very rude Peter!" I said in shock. How could he be so rude? "I could punish you by telling you how, exactly, twins are made. Would you like that, Peter?" I asked him sweetly, all the while imagining the look on his face when he learned. Hah. Even Peter seemed to realize that this wasn't a good thing to know, because he immediately backtracked and said, "Um, you don't need to do that. Let's just call them… Marmaduke and Binky. Ok?"

"Excellent." I said fondly, smiling at the all of the Lost Boys.

Ok, I think this is a good time to end the Chapter. I had finally met the Lost Boys and made my place (or lack thereof) in the Underground House, and I was quite excited to start the adventures I was sure Peter had in store. Of course, I didn't much like thrills though, so…

This should be fun.

**A/N: Alright! Chapter 5 done! You guys know what to do. (psst-it's review! 2 and then I update!)**


	6. Tinkerbell

**A/N: Hello! I'm back, after a week, and I would like to answer a question I had: staynotagrownup, I chose Marmaduke and Binky because I'm trying to stay as true to the original story as I can, and in the original Peter Pan story, I believe their names are Marmaduke and Binky (plus Wikipedia said so). But I'm actually reading Peter and the Starcatchers right now, and I LOVE it! I'm on the third book! But yeah, I'm trying to stay true to the original version. So there's my reasoning. Thanks for asking! I now present to you Chapter 6: Tinkerbell!**

**Disclaimer: Me: I've got you held hostage now, Pan! Now...now, I own you! MUAHAHAHA!**

**Peter: We're in my house. And if anything, I've got you held hostage, since you can't get home without me. **

**Me: ...Dang it. **

Oh the joys of living in Neverland! Here, I'll name a few of them: No indoor plumbing. No privacy. No technology. And no change of clothes.

I learned all of this in the span of about, hmm, say, forty-five minutes? Oho, _JOY. _

I'd never really contemplated what it would be like living in a small house with all boys, but I learned quickly I really should have before agreeing to go to Neverland. They had absolutely NO RESPECT for the fact that I was a girl, and I HAD NEEDS.

_UGH._

I asked where I was supposed to go to the bathroom.

"Just go wherever, we don't really care."

I asked where I could get new clothes, since mine were dirty.

"There aren't any other clothes, besides, what's a little dirt?"

I asked when I could get privacy.

"Why would you need privacy? We're a family now!"

OH MY GOSH I GET THE POINT. BOYS ARE STUPID SAVAGES WHO DON'T CARE AT ALL ABOUT ANYONE'S NEEDS AND THEY SHOULD ALL BE CONFINED INTO ONE SPACE TOGETHER UNTIL THEY GO CRAZY AND LEARN HOW I FELT—

I'm sorry. This is still a touchy subject for me. But I got really tired of the Underground House really fast.

"OK!" I screeched over the shouts of the Lost Boys (which were _very _annoying, I might add.) "Peter, you are going to _get me out of here now, _you are going to _show me some bloody part of Neverland, _and when we get back you are going to _tell those boys to stop. Freaking. Shouting. Every. Freaking. SECOND!" _I then stood up, walked across the room, and stood next to my trunk with my arms folded, hoping Peter wouldn't come back with some witty retort.

Amazingly, Peter stared at me for a moment, and then proceeded to simply walk over to me and then face the boys. "Well, you heard Miss No-Fun." He said, glancing at me. I stuck my nose in the air and held my ground. Peter turned to me. "You need some pixie-dust first though."

At this, I immediately dropped my angry demeanor and replaced it with barely contained excitement. Pixie dust! Finally! After years and years dreaming of flying, really flying, it was about to happen! Of course, I wasn't too keen on meeting Tinkerbell, but I was willing to take that on if it got me out of here.

Peter took my hand and led me to a shrouded corner of the room, covered with green leaves and flowers with a small glow coming out through the small spaces.

"Tinkerbell…" Peter said in a soft, sing-song voice that almost made me melt with feelings. I was definitely something, wasn't I? "Oh Tinkerbell…"

Apparently, it had the same effect on Tinkerbell, because a moment later she emerged, glowing brightly, arms folded and looking up at Peter. The moment she saw me, however, her look of haughty disregard changed to one of positive hatred, and she was in Peter's face in an instant, tinkling loudly and turning red with anger.

"Tink—hey, Tink—Tink—TINKERBELL!" Peter shouted, dousing Tink's loud bells. She backed off and folded her arms, glaring at me, a look I mirrored almost instantly. It was obvious we weren't going to be friends.

"Tink, I know, you said not to bring her…." He was interrupted by a renewed outburst of bells, at which he sighed. "I know! But she finally…" He trailed off, listening to Tink again, while I wondered: What had I finally done? "Because I'm supposed to, that's why!" Peter said, sounding annoyed. "If someone isn't happy, if they don't want to grow up, then I go get them. That's what I did with Denise." He stopped talking and listened to Tink again, who's red glow was so harsh it looked like it was about to explode.

"Yes, her name's Denise! Oh come on, Tinkerbell! Will you just give her some pixie dust?" Peter sighed, sounding exasperated. Tink tinkled again, and I really wish I knew what she had said, because immediately after Peter's face hardened in a look of anger so intense I had to admire Tink for standing her ground, albeit looking a bit worried. "No." He said venomously, glaring daggers at the small fairy. "She isn't."

Even Tink seemed to know when she had crossed the line, and apparently this was one of those times. Without tinkling a word, she zoomed over to me and swirled around me, covering me in glittering gold fairy dust. Once she was done, she immediately retreated back into her shrouded corner, closing the vines covering it a bit too harshly.

Peter turned back to me wearily, his anger slowly receding, and sighed. "Well, that's Tinkerbell. But I bet you knew that," He added, smirking and shooting a sideways look at me. Of course I had known that. That's basic Peter Pan knowledge; anyone who doesn't know who Tinkerbell is needs to seriously evaluate their social lives. I, personally, didn't think she deserved the fame she got in reality, but what did I know? I was thirteen.

"Ok, now we can go outside and I can teach you how to fly." Peter said, his cheerful look back on his face. He took my hand again and we both arrived at the tree trunks, which we then climbed up and out of the Underground House.

**A/N: Yeah, this one's pretty short, but I'll update again soon I think. Remember: I need 2 reviews to update! Just 2 you guys! It isn't very hard... Thank you!**


	7. Valda

**A/N: Hello! Ok, first of all, I've made a decision: I won't be asking for reviews anymore (I'd absolutely LOVE them, but I won't require them to update anymore). Not because I haven't been getting them, I have, I've just got enough followers now that I don't need to worry about nobody reading it, because obviously you guys are! But still, thank all of you SO MUCH for reviewing! Please keep it up, it only takes two seconds! :)** **On to Chapter 7: Valda!**

**Disclaimer: Peter, if you let me own you, I'll...I'll... I'll give you a kiss!**

**Peter: A kiss? I've already got enough of those. Random girls keep giving them to me; I'm not sure why.**

**Me: -looks at you- Will you STOP GIVING HIM KISSES SO I CAN BRIBE HIM?! -_-**

I was quite excited to learn how to fly, despite the fact that I had absolutely hated it when coming to Neverland. I thought that maybe, when I was able to control where I was going, it wouldn't be so bad. Then I wouldn't have to worry about Peter suddenly shooting upward or diving down, which I hated.

We arrived at the edge of the forest and into the beach, where the sand was warm and white, without any of the everyday little and dirtiness you see in reality. And it felt _so good _on my bare feet; especially considering I had just walked through a forest covered in twigs and rocks that ripped my skin apart.

"Here's where I'll be teaching you." Peter said, gesturing around him to the miles of beach, stretching all the way across until it hit the "Dark Side", where the sand became dark and coaly. I still had a feeling that side would cause problems for us, even if Peter didn't think so.

"Ok… faith, trust, and pixie dust, right? Happy thoughts?" I said, readying myself to fly. Peter nodded, smiling, and floated over to me.

"Ready?" He asked, taking my outstretched hands in his own. I nodded, fixing my mind on a single happy thought: I was in Neverland.

And then my feet weren't on the ground anymore.

"AHHHH!" I screamed, kicking madly in the air, moving my arms like I was swimming. Peter laughed and caught my hands in his own, fixing them so that they were outstretched on either side of me, so that I resembled a plane.

"Now just stay in that position, and lean forward." Peter instructed, and I nodded tersely, concentrating hard. I slowly leaned forward and, to my surprise, I flew forward quickly, but I was still in control of myself. I then leaned right, and I flew right. Same with the left.

"Wow!" I said, quickly getting the hang of it and swooping up and down. "This is awesome!"

Peter nodded, smiling. "So, where do you wanna go?"

At once, a million scenarios exploded in my head. I wanted to find a place…romantic. Oh, don't judge me! I was thirteen! I was with the adorable Peter Pan! You can't blame me for wanting to try to get him to like me, and it seemed to work with Wendy, so why not me? Just get a nice dark romantic place, have a special connection, then voila! We're together! Well, minus the I'll-probably-leave-someday part, we're together! Right?

"Um…I want to see the—the—" I said, my brain working hard trying to pick somewhere. "The Enchanted Forest, that's where I want to go,." I finally decided. In the 2003 movie, Peter and Wendy had shared a dance there that had changed both their perspectives on each other forever. That seemed like the best place for me to go to find my romance.

Peter grinned and nodded eagerly. "Ok! Follow me!" And then he took off into the sky.

Caught off guard, I quickly jumped into the sky and managed to flap may way behind Peter. Let's see if this works or not.

We arrived at the Enchanted Forest I think about five minutes later (my sense of time was beginning to wear off), and while Peter peeked forward I quickly tried to make myself pretty. Seeing as I had no mirror, this was a hard thing to do.

"Ok, come here." Peter said, grabbing my hand again and leading me forward. Peter seemed to have absolutely no problem with holding girls' hands, something most boys wouldn't have been so keen to do.

We entered the shrouded forest, and immediately the sky was blocked out. Not even the shining stars could be seen through canopy of trees. I immediately let go of Peter's hand (a surprising feat, when you think about me), and rushed forward, to where I thought I heard a stream flowing. I absolutely loved streams in forests. It just gave me a calming feeling. I moved aside some bushes and lo and behold, there it was, a perfectly clear creek flowing through the forest.

"Oh my gosh! There's a creek here!" I said enthusiastically, crouching down to touch it. But the moment my fingers brushed it, it immediately froze over. Letting out a yelp, I snatched my finger up and stared at the water. What?! Why had the creek frozen?

A moment later, Peter flew into the scene, but he stopped short when he saw me staring, wide-eyed, at the now glassy creek.

"The creek—it froze—" I stuttered, still in shock. Peter knelt down and inspected the creek, and, to my horror, his eyes widened too.

"Oh no…" He muttered, brushing his fingers across the frozen water, until—

"Playing in places that aren't yours is considered impolite, you know." A snide voice said from behind us, and both me and Peter sprang up and whipped around, Peter drawing his dagger.

Standing—or, hovering, that is—before us was a woman with long, jet black hair, wearing a long, flowing ruby red dress. She had long fingernails, painted black, and her lips were a very dark, vibrant red, giving her a permanently evil smirk. She was, in a sense, very beautiful, but it was wickedly beautiful if that.

"Valda." Peter said curtly, thought I noticed he did not put away his dagger.

"Peter." Valda purred in reply, swooshing forward to stand in front of him. "I thought you agreed to stay away from my side of Neverland?" She said, in an innocent sounding, sweet voice, but I saw her hand inching towards what looked like a stick of wood strapped to her belt.

Bet you can guess what that was.

"I did. I didn't know we were on your side." Peter replied, taking a step back from Valda.

"I suppose you remember our deal, don't you, Peter?" Valda continued, stroking the stick of wood. I saw Peter's eyes shiftily glanced at it, but they were back on Valda a second later.

"I remember the deal." Peter said tersely, his eyes flashing. Valda nodded, her lips stretching into a smile.

"Then I trust that next time you wander into my side you will REMEMBER BETTER!" She then drew her wand fully, next second there was a bright flash of light and Peter was hurtling backwards. He smacked into a tree and thudded to the ground, eyes closed and head lolling.

"PETER!" I screeched, sprinting over to him.

"Oooh, looky here…Peter's brought another one!" Valda said, and then there was a swoosh, and she was right next to me. "What's your name, girl?"

"D-Denise…" I stammered, shrinking back from her and closer to Peter. This woman very much intimidated me.

"Denise… Your last name isn't, by any chance, Woods?" Valda asked, with the air of one playing a game of 20 questions.

Now _that _was weird. She knew my last name? How did she know my last name?

"Y-Yes…it is…" I said, completely flabbergasted, not to mention scared. Valda nodded thoughtfully, and then knelt down beside me. I scooted even farther away.

"Well, Denise Woods, I've got a present for you."

My fear increased as she reached down into her boot and pulled out another thin stick of wood, a wand, and pointed it at me. But a second later, she had turned her hand over and seemed to be _offering _me it instead of threatening me with it.

"W-What?" I said, now confused in addition to flabbergasted and scared. Why was this lady offering me a wand?

"Consider it a…welcome back present." Valda said, setting the wand beside me. She glanced sideways at Peter. "One flick should do it." And then, with another sickening smile, she was gone. Just like that.

Now what the _heck _had just happened?! Some random woman named Valda had apparently frozen the water, knocked out Peter, and then turned around and given his friend, me, a wand. What?! I spent a whole sixty seconds trying to make sense of this in my head, but it just wasn't happening. So, being the thirteen year old child that I was, I decided to try and figure out a more logical problem than deal with this mystical one.

I turned around to Peter, who looked like he was still unconscious, and lifted his head up slowly. No blood. Good. Now how was I going to make him conscious again? I couldn't just sit here and hope for the best, could I? Wait a minute… What had Valda said?

"_One flick should do it." _

One flick should do it… Had she meant that if I flicked the wand, Peter would be revived? Was that the _only way _Peter_ could _be revived?

I slowly picked up the wand and held it in my hand. All at once, a great feeling of power swept over me, and I felt I could do anything in the world. Reviving Peter seemed not only possible, but positively easy. As long as I had this wand, I could do anything I wanted to…

I dropped the wand. Immediately those thoughts, and that powerful feeling, went away. The power scared me. If the truth be told, I didn't trust myself with power. I was afraid that I would abuse it. But I had to get Peter back _somehow…_

I picked up the wand again and, before the feeling of power could properly intensify, I flicked the wand sideways, towards Peter. I know, I know, you're shaking your head right now. What kind of person just trusts the evil witch that knocked her friend out? I guess you could say I just had a feeling that she was telling the truth about this one, even if she may not in later occasions… (hint, hint)

But my instincts were correct because, a moment later, Peter rose up with a deep breath, breathing hard. I quickly shoved the wand behind me and put both hands around Peter's neck, thoroughly relived that he was back.

"W…What happened? Did she knock me out or something?" Peter said groggily, looking around him. I nodded, releasing my hands.

"Yeah. She shot some sort of spell at you with her wand." I said, standing up and moving back as Peter stood too. He shook his head, looking slightly embarrassed that he had been taken down so quickly.

"Ah, yeah, she's done it before." He blinked a few times, then suddenly looked around him frantically. He calmed a moment later, and I assumed he was checking that this time we were indeed on his side of Neverland. Which reminded me of something…

"She mentioned a deal. What kind of deal did you make with her?" I asked, as Peter walked over to the creek, which was flowing again. He glanced back at me, but then focused his attention back on the water.

"It's nothing. Just a stupid game we play." Peter replied after a minute, but I sensed he wasn't telling me the whole truth.

"What kind of game?" I asked, walking to stand next to him.

"It's nothing. Just forget it."

"Tell me."

"Drop it."

"Come on…"

"No."

"Peter…"

"JUST DROP IT, DENISE!" Peter shouted, completely silencing me. He let out a sigh of frustration, and kicked a stone into the creek. Without looking at me, he said, "C'mon. We should get out of here." And then he jumped into the air, and flew away.

I stared after him for a moment then, decided I didn't want to be lost in these woods, shot after him, quickly tucking a thin, wooden stick into my pants pocket.

**A/N: Ooooh! A mysterious wand! Let's see where this heads next... On a side note, I watched the movie Hook today and OMG ASDFGHJKL IT WAS AMAZING! Guys! I totally expected it to be a total misinterpretation of Peter Pan but it was SO GOOD. UGH. I LOVED IT! If you haven't watched it, GO WATCH IT NOW. IT'S ON YOUTUBE. DON'T ASK QUESTIONS. JUST GO. **

**Um... Please review! :)**


	8. Just Life

**A/N: Hello! I'm here with the next Chapter of If You Just Leave the Window Open! Yay! But, a warning, this chapter isn't going to be very exciting. It's more to just give you a proper feel of Neverland and Peter and Denise. So there's that...oh, and this story is about to get a bit more INTERACTIVE! Yeah! But more on that later. For now, just sit down, relax, and read Chapter 8: Just Life!**

**Disclaimer: Peter just let me own you. Please. I'll do anything.**

**Peter: -sly smile- Anything?**

**Me: -regretting choice of words- Um...well, not ****_anything.._****.but most things!**

**Peter: Then no.**

**Me: Oh COME ON!**

We arrived back at the Underground House presumably very late; for the Lost Boys had already fallen asleep, scattered all around the living room in various positions. Peter took one look at this and shook his head, looking distasteful.

"I keep telling them to go in their rooms; they get in _my _way when they sleep like this!" He said. He then took a deep breath, as if preparing to yell something, but before he could I stopped him with a shocked, "Wait! Don't wake them up!"

He turned to me questioningly. "Why? They disobeyed, so they must be punished. Right?"

"No!" I said, grabbing his arm and pulling him away from the nearest Lost Boy (Slightly). "They're just sleeping. If you wake them up then they'll stay up, and I'm not really in the mood right now to be up all night."

Peter looked confused as to why someone didn't want to stay up all night, but he (wisely) decided to disregard it, for my sake. He shrugged. "Ok. So you're going to bed?"

"If I've got a bed." I replied, looking around. There didn't seem to be a guest room in this wild, underground house, and I wasn't sure how I'd feel sleeping on the floor…

But Peter was grinning. "You've got a bed." He walked over to blank space in the wall, leaned against it with one foot on the wall (trying to look cool, huh, Peter?), and tapped the wall to the right in a series of beats that I would one day need to memorize. Once Peter was finished tapping, the wall spun away to reveal an entrance to an entirely new room that had certainly _not _been there before. It revealed a spare bedroom, complete with a wardrobe, mirror, and desk, all in the same foresty-style as the rest of the house. It was much more civilized than the rest of the place, though. And I liked that.

"Cool!" I said, skipping forward into it. "How did you make a hidden room?"

"If you imagine it, then it happens." Peter said, peeking in from outside. "Is this room alright?"

"This room is perfect!" I said happily, literally twirling around and falling on the bed. It was surprisingly comfy.

"Good. Well, goodnight, then." Peter said, obviously fighting back a yawn. "Don't let the bed bugs bite!"

"Don't let the…oh! Hah, you either!" I called to him as he closed the door. It had been a while since I had heard the phrase "don't let the bed bugs bite'; my parents had long since believed I had grown out of such childish things. But, I admit, it was very nice to hear it again and not feel ashamed for wanting to hear it. A fresh new twist only Neverland could bring.

And so that night I went to sleep dreaming of…well, pretty much exactly the life that I was living now.

I have absolutely no idea when I woke up, only that I woke up to Peter bursting through the door, throwing the covers off of me, and literally _jumping up and down on the bed, _saying repeatedly, "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

I jerked up and looked around wildly, just as Peter fell down on the bed in a cat-like position, crawling up next to me and sitting cross-legged. "So are you awake?"

"I am now!" I said, more than a little nettled. I rubbed my eyes groggily and turned around to face him. He was looking far too bright and cheery for the morning. "What do you want?"

Peter shrugged, playing with the sheet corners of the bed. "Nothing. I just wanted you to wake up."

I stared at him for a moment and then reached forward and shoved him off the bed. He tumbled off with a surprised, "Wah!" I then pulled the covers back up over my head and laid back down on the pillows.

"Come on, Denise…" Peter said, and from the sound of his voice he was right next to my face. There was also a sudden change in his tone. I couldn't quite put my finger on what it sounded like (cute, seductive, pleading, etc.), but I _so _loved it. I had a feeling it was probably the same type of tone that he used with Wendy when he had said, "One girl is worth more than twenty boys," so you can imagine what it sounded like.

"Neverland's got adventures waiting for us to go on…"

And that's what did it for me. Adventures for _us _to go on. Me and Peter Pan. Going on adventures. How could I miss that? So I shook the covers off and sat up again, now wide-awake.

"Alright, fine. But I want something to eat first."

Five minutes later I was sitting against a tree eating a pineapple while Peter flew up and got one down for himself. The pineapples tasted _amazing _here, probably because this was their native land. Plus their native land was magical, so that helped too. The Lost Boys were apparently at the Indian Camp, from what Peter said, so we didn't need to worry about them today. Peter also said that we'd probably go visit the Indians tonight; something about Tigerlily wanting to see him. I was really hoping that Tigerlily was someone that the stories had gotten wrong.

"So, Peter…" I began, as he slid down next to me and used his dagger to cut the pineapple. "How's the old 'picking-random-kids-up-to-take-to-Neverland' business going?"

"Actually, not very good." Peter said, slicing the pineapple into quarters. "None of them leave their windows open anymore and I can't get their attention so they will because they're always staring at these little boxes with lights in them."

At that I almost gagged on my pineapple. "Peter! Those are computers! And I'm going to bet that at least half of the people _you_ see doing that are staring at pictures and stories about _you!" _

"Really?" Peter asked, his interest sparked. "Then why don't they just open the window so I can come and get them?"

I sighed deeply, wishing it were so easy. "Well, Peter, because things aren't as easy as they used to be. There's a lot of crazy people who will come in and harm you if you leave your window open."

"I'll fight them off." Peter said, swinging his dagger in front of him threateningly. "No one will be able to hurt my Lost Boys and Girls once I'm finished with them!" Hey, he was talking to you, you know. Yes, you, who is reading this right now. You should be happy.

I sighed again. "That's brave of you, Peter, but…these people aren't like the usual people you fight. I don't think you'd be able to handle them. Those people would have to be prepared to do a lot worse damage than stabbing if they break into a kid's bedroom."

"Well, what other kind of damage is there?"

"Emotional. That's the worst sort of damage a person can do." I said, looking sideways at Peter. Who knows how many people he had done emotional damage to, him, the person who does his best to stop emotions? Peter's expression, however, didn't waver, and I knew I hadn't done anything to produce any outward significant results on him, so I just sighed and stood up. "Where are those adventures you promised me?"

Peter's expression brightened and he threw the pineapple quarter behind him, obviously ready for a fresh new adventure. "Mermaids!" He said, his eyes flashing slightly. Now here's where I wasn't sure what to say. You see, in the 'official book' and the 2003 movie, the mermaids were mystical and murderous, or, to put it in quote, "Not as they are in storybooks." In the Disney version, they (of course) made the mermaids more fairy-tale like, with a fond obsession of Peter Pan and a hatred for anyone who got in between them. They were much like Tinkerbell. But which version was the real version? I don't think Peter would bring me to someplace where I could potentially die, but then again Peter didn't have a conscience. I guess there was only one way to find out.

"Um, alright. Lead the way…" I said half-heartedly, gesturing forward. Peter instantly rose and took off to the left, and I, a bit caught off guard, rushed behind him, wishing I had brought that wand with me in case I had to fend off any mermaids. Let's see where this leads, shall we?

*****IMPORTANT PLEASE READ*****

**A/N: Ok, here's where the interactive bit I mentioned earlier comes into play. Which mermaid do you want? The fairy tale type, or the dark type? It's your choice! I'm fine with either, so just PM me or review which one you want, and I'll get to writing the chapter on...Monday. So you've got about three days to review! So please do! Ok, that's all now! Please review your choice! :)**


	9. Mermaids

**A/N: Oh gosh I'm so sorry this took so long! I had INSANE writers block this week, and I tried to write this many times, I really did, but nothing was coming! But I've finally forced myself to write it, and I think it turned out pretty good though; at least better than I expected. Also, I won't be updating as frequently starting after this Chapter. I'm sorry, it's just my life is going to get in the way and everything, and life comes before fanfiction so... I'm really sorry. I'll try to update at least once a week though. Oh, and thank you all SO MUCH for reviewing your choices! I didn't expect so much suggestions to come in, but they did, and I am SO THANKFUL. So, thank you. :) Now I present, Chapter 9: Mermaids!**

**Disclaimer: Peter I really don't want to live life here, but if I owned you then I could fly of to Neverland instead...**

**Peter: Good luck with life then.**

**Me: Dang it.**

We descended into the Mermaid Lagoon a short while later and (I'm not sure if this was a relief or not) immediately I had my answer as to which mermaids were true: fairy-tale. Yes, these mermaids were doing their hair and flashing their colorful tails, chattering in nasally, annoying voices. And, of course, the moment they caught sight of Peter flying towards them, they dropped everything and splashed over to him, trying to make themselves look good. I suppose these fishes were the first members of any type of Peter Pan fandom. I can just imagine them staying up all night and blogging endless pictures of him…just like me.

And so I hated them. That was my prime, not theirs.

So I purposefully stuck close to Peter, firstly to make sure he wouldn't forget me in the process of seeing the mermaids, and secondly to make sure the mermaids knew I was here and that yes, I was _definitely _a threat.

This was probably not the mature way to handle things, but I was in Neverland, so being mature wasn't really at the top of my priorities list. Peter and I landed lightly on a rock (that looked vaguely familiar) in the middle of the lagoon, and immediately the mermaids swarmed around us. But I noticed that they didn't instantly start cooing over Peter; on the contrary, they were all staring at me. I stared back defiantly, with my arms folded.

"Who is _she?" _A redhead asked, pointing openly at me. Peter, who looked slightly disappointed that they weren't completely adoring him, replied, "That's Denise. I brought her here yesterday."

The mermaids gave me a look of distaste that I had expected, but I decided to be the bigger person and ignore them, at least for now. I didn't have time for these stupid fishes.

"Well can you take her back today?" One of the mermaids asked innocently, as her friends snickered. Peter merely chuckled but didn't say anything in my defense, which I was extremely offended by. I wasn't surprised, but that didn't mean I liked it.

"I think he'll find it hard to take me back if I kick and punch and struggle; he has a thing against fighting girls, you know." I retorted, stepping into the conversation. Turning to Peter, I added, "Thanks for sticking up for me, by the way, really helped my self-esteem."

"Um…you're welcome…?" Peter replied, seeming slightly confused. Did he really not know what sarcasm was?

"It was _sarcasm, _you twit!" I snapped, already on edge from being around those mermaids.

"Hey! Don't you call him a twit!" A shrill voice interrupted, swimming to the front of the group. I whipped around to face her, all ready for a fight.

"I can call him whatever I want to call him, this is _our _conversation!"

"But it's mean! And if you're mean to Peter, then you'll have to deal with us!" The mermaid shot back, gesturing around to her friends, who swum up as if on cue.

"_'And if you're mean to Peter, you'll have to blah blah blah!'" _I copied in a high-pitched, annoying voice. "Give me a break. I don't care what you and your friends do, I've got legs to kick with and hands to strangle with, so bring it on, sweetie!" I said, simultaneously lifting my fists. Now you have to understand, I had already grew up disliking these mermaids, so it only took the slightest provocation for me to take out thirteen years' worth of hate on them. I know now, and I probably knew it then, that I wasn't handling the situation correctly, but…I just really hate those fishes!

"Denise!" Peter (finally) interjected, swooping in front of me and between the mermaids. "They were just helping me—"

"_Get out of the way, Pan!" _I growled, physically pushing him sideways. "You have no idea how fierce girl fights can get!" Peter stumbled a bit but did not move from his place; instead he chose to swerve sideways and wrap his arms around my waist, pulling me upwards and flying me away from the mermaids. I was not happy about this.

"_PUT ME DOWN YOU PRAT OR I'LL HIT YOU SO HARD YOU'LL NEED A PLANE TICKET TO COME DOWN!" _I screamed, kicking and struggling with all my might.

Ok, I'm sorry, but I need to pause this story and add one of my own comments: That was a good comeback, wasn't it? Come on, you know it was, you know you smiled slightly when you read it. I still pride myself very much on using it. Even if Peter didn't know what a plane was. Alright, back to the story.

Peter set me down on a grassy cliff edge looking down on the lagoon. I immediately whirled around to face him, but he was gone. I looked up and saw him hanging upside down on a branch, hands behind his head as if resting. Really?

"GET DOWN HERE!" I shouted, swinging at him. He pulled up just as I did, and then dropped down again, grinning. His grin was just infuriating me more.

"_UGH!" _I screamed, plopping down on the ground in defeat. I put my head in my hands and didn't move from that position, trying to calm down my emotions.

I heard a light _whoosh _as Peter dropped down next to me. I could tell he was looking at me, so I peeked through my fingers to see him. He smiled slightly when he saw I was looking, an act that made me come out of my hands fully.

"What do you see in those mermaids, anyways?" I asked, my anger ebbed away. "They're complete prats."

Not reacting at all to my insult, Peter shrugged and replied, "They like me. So I like them."

"But they're horrible."

"They aren't so different from me." Peter said, glancing up at me. I knew what he was thinking. That I was calling him horrible too. But the thing was, I didn't say anything to set him straight. He needed a wake up call, and maybe I could be the person to do that. You know, if that little wooden stick hiding in my room at the Underground House didn't change anything.

Oh.

**A/N: Please review!**


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